Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson issued the following statement in response to a proposal to offer federal tax credits for contributions to private schools:

“When announcing her support for a federal tax credit for contributions to private-school scholarships, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said, ‘A great education shouldn’t be determined by luck or by address or by family income.’ That may be the first thing she’s said that I agree with, but the reality is that the quality of education received by most children in our nation is based on those very factors.

“DeVos’s latest attack on public schools came a day after the New York Times published a report that found an eye-popping $23 billion disparity between white and nonwhite school districts. Although the tax credit proposal authored by Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Bradley Byrne would not directly take money from public schools, it is a backdoor voucher program that would lower the federal tax base and thus inadvertently harm low-income urban and rural school districts.

“As Education secretary, DeVos’s job is to support the nation’s public-school systems and steer resources toward, not away from, them. Thankfully, the House is now controlled by Democrats, which ensures that her anti-public schools agenda will not succeed.”

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson is a fourth-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school. Congresswoman Wilson also founded and chairs the Florida Ports Caucus, a bipartisan taskforce that coordinates federal action in support of Florida’s harbors and waterways. The Florida lawmaker sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.

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